Holding the original shares, they fought all the way to the Korean War!

One day later.

Headquarters of the Japanese First Army.

Colonel Yamashita, the head of the intelligence section, stood at the door of the commander's office and gently knocked twice.

He was holding a document in his hand.

"Come in."

Yoshijiro Umezu's voice came from inside.

Colonel Yamashita pushed open the door and walked in, stood at attention in front of the desk, and saluted.

He didn't rush to speak, but instead handed over the documents in his hands with both hands.

"Commander!"

"The infiltration plan targeting the Eighth Route Army base area in southeastern Shanxi has been finalized. Please review it."

Yoshijiro Umezu took the document and slowly turned to the first page.

The office fell silent.

The only sound was the faint rustling of the pages turning.

Colonel Yamashita stood in front of the desk, his hands hanging at his sides, his gaze fixed straight ahead, without making any unnecessary movements.

About seven or eight minutes later, Yoshijiro Umezu turned to the last page.

He closed the file, didn't speak immediately, but leaned back in his chair.

He was silent for a few seconds, then looked up at Colonel Yamashita.

"Um."

When this word was uttered by Yoshijiro Umezu.

The tone wasn't exactly enthusiastic, but compared to his usual cold and indifferent demeanor, it was a considerable degree of affirmation.

Colonel Yamashita astutely grasped this point.

"The plan is very detailed, taking into account several possible scenarios, and the backgrounds of the candidates are also designed to be quite in-depth."

"You've already exceeded my expectations at this stage."

Yoshijiro Umezu reopened the document and turned to the third page, where several key points were highlighted in pencil.

His gaze lingered on that page for a few more seconds before he continued.

"Select twenty people, whose backgrounds must be clean, and who cannot have any record of being associated with the Imperial Army."

"Their identities must be refugees displaced by war, or stragglers recruited from the defeated Nationalist army."

"Or perhaps farmers who fled famine from other parts of North China to Shanxi."

"These three identities combine to form different backstories."

"They cannot be related to each other, cannot know each other, and cannot have any connecting clues."

Colonel Yamashita nodded slightly, taking every word to heart.

"In addition, these twenty people cannot be sent out in the same batch; they must be sent out in batches, at different times, and along different routes."

"Send out three to five people in the first batch, and then send out the second batch after about a week, and so on."

"To make them look like scattered people who fled to the base from different directions."

"Instead of the same group of people arriving at the same time."

Yoshijiro Umezu paused here, tapping his fingers lightly on the table twice, at a moderate pace, as if he were considering something.

A few seconds later, he continued.

"Let them join the Eighth Route Army."

"As long as I can be incorporated into the 386th Brigade, that's fine."

"Once they are in the 386th Brigade's ranks, they can gradually figure out the locations and activity ranges of those units."

"They don't need to actively inquire about this information; they just need to act like ordinary soldiers."

Colonel Yamashita's breathing rhythm remained unchanged.

But a barely perceptible glint flashed in his eyes.

The commander's idea was even more detailed than he had anticipated.

Not only were infiltrators deployed, but methods for obtaining intelligence were also pre-designed.

Furthermore, the subsequent utilization value of the personnel was taken into consideration.

"As for how to use these people later, there's no need to rush now."

"The longer they stay at the grassroots level, the more secure their status becomes, and the higher the quality of the intelligence they obtain."

"Once they have truly integrated into the life of the Eighth Route Army and settled down, we will decide when to activate them based on the actual situation."

"It could be three months, or it could be six months, or even longer."

"We need to be mentally prepared for this time span."

Colonel Yamashita nodded, his tone calm.

"I have selected the first batch of candidates, a total of five people."

"Their background files have all been completed, including forged home addresses, kinship details, escape routes, and relevant details of what they might encounter along the way."

"On paper, there are no loopholes."

Where are they now?

"They are receiving final training in a safe house in Taiyuan City."

"The main thing is to memorize your own background information so that you won't give yourself away under any questioning."

"The training is expected to be completed the day after tomorrow, and you can depart at any time after completion."

After listening, Yoshijiro Umezu remained silent for a few seconds.

It was as if I was mentally reviewing the entire plan again, making sure nothing was overlooked.

"Do they have weapons?"

"no."

"When the Eighth Route Army recruited new soldiers, they would check their belongings and not allow them to bring anything that might arouse suspicion."

"Each person should only carry some dry rations and ordinary luggage, enough to sustain them until they reach the vicinity of the Eighth Route Army's base area."

"very good."

Yoshijiro Umezu was silent for a moment, then slowly spoke.

His tone was lower and colder than before.

"Yamashita-kun, do you know why I'm doing this in the 386th Brigade?"

Colonel Yamashita shook his head slightly, not giving a hasty reply.

Yoshijiro Umezu didn't wait for him to speak, but continued talking on his own.

"Although Kiyoshi Kazuki is dead, the impact of this incident has not completely dissipated yet."

"The headquarters didn't investigate further, and the news was suppressed for the time being, but things hidden in the shadows won't just disappear into thin air."

"Those people don't mention it anymore on the surface, but they're still waiting for a result."

His voice was low, and his words seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

It carried a gloomy feeling that had been suppressed for a long time.

"I need an answer."

"An outcome that allows me to explain myself to headquarters, an outcome that can truly put an end to this."

"Whether the result is catching the murderer, finding out the cause of Kiyoshi Kazuki's death, or at least confirming which unit is involved in this matter."

"As long as I have a definite answer, I can completely remove this from the table."

As Yoshijiro Umezu finished speaking, he sat up straight again and turned his gaze back to Colonel Yamashita.

"And the 386th Brigade is currently the most likely direction."

"The combat methods, firepower configurations, and command styles of these two battles in which the strongholds were destroyed were highly consistent with the characteristics of the killers that I assessed on the spot at the time."

"Although there is no direct evidence yet, this direction is worth investing resources to verify."

"Even if it is ultimately proven that it was not the 386th Brigade that did it, at least we have ruled out the most likely possibility."

After listening, Colonel Yamashita remained silent for a few seconds before speaking.

"Understood."

"These twenty people will be sent to the 386th Brigade in batches according to the plan."

"Once they settle down, my subordinates will continue to monitor the situation of each group of people to ensure the reliability and security of the information sources."

Yoshijiro Umezu nodded.

"Let's proceed with this plan."

"Hi!"

Colonel Yamashita stood at attention, saluted, turned, and strode out of the office.

The door closed gently behind me, and the sound of footsteps faded into the distance in the corridor.

Yoshijiro Umezu picked up the document on the table again.

He looked at it again before closing the file.

He put it in the drawer, then leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.